


The Lion Sleeps Tonight

by awesomecookies



Series: A Gang Leader as a Professor? It's More Likely than You Think [7]
Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Autism Spectrum, Cute, Domestic, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Kid - Freeform, Lesbians, Let's Go Lesbians, Lions, POV Outsider, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:07:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24044884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awesomecookies/pseuds/awesomecookies
Summary: "What is your name mister?” She asked. The man laughed for some reason like he found something funny. Jo also didn’t know what he found funny.“You’re going to laugh.” He said.“You’re the one laughing.” Jo was confused.“That’s true.” He sighed. “My name is Aslan.”Oh. Maybe that’s why.“Like the lion from Narnia.”“I resent that.” Mr. Aslan snorted. “But yes. Exactly like the lion in Narnia.”“Aslan means lion in Turkish though.” Jo points out. “Your name is Lion.”
Relationships: Ash Lynx & Original Character(s), Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Okumura Eiji & Original Character(s)
Series: A Gang Leader as a Professor? It's More Likely than You Think [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1612297
Comments: 52
Kudos: 346





	The Lion Sleeps Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> hellooo! here i am and im back with my bullshit hahaha this series just never seems to end? Why? I am sorry i just enjoyed writing this so much. Also the character is in the autistic spectrum but I'm afraid I might be wring in representing her so please don;t hate me and i will accept constructive criticisms to be better hsakjsdkds;

Jo was a special kid. Or at least that was something her aunt told her. A lot of other people told her this too. But they weren't so kind about it like her aunt. But that's okay. Jo liked her aunt Tori. She liked a lot of things. She liked lining up the chairs and stools in her aunt Tori's cafe like how she liked to line up all her dolls and toys in perfect order. People didn't really get why she liked to. She just liked to. Her aunt Tori told her not to line up the chairs and tables when there were still people on it though. But when they're done, she was free to do so.

That's okay too. Jo thought. She could arrange the cakes instead. Her aunt Tori gave her jobs to do while she was busy working when Jo wasn't in school. If not, Jo would play in the room in the back or read her books. She liked books. Jo liked a lot of different things. Things such as lions. She liked lions. She also liked tigers but lions were lot better. And she knew a lot about lions. Example did you know that African lions are the most social of all big cats and live together in groups or “prides.” A pride consists of about 15 lions. Also a lion’s roar can be heard from as far as 5 miles away. She also knew that a lion can run for short distances at 50 mph and leap as far as 36 feet. Jo liked lions. She does. 

Aunt Tori knew about how much she liked lions that she bought her a stuffed animal of it. Jo never let it go. She also liked it because it was wearing an orange shirt. Jo liked orange. It was such a bright color.

But there were things she didn't really like too. Like crowds. She didn't really like them. And noise. She didn't really like noise either. And school. It had a lot of crowds and a lot of noise. Plus the other kids get angry with her sometimes and she didn't know why, or sometimes she knew why but she didn't think it was a reason to be angry. Jo didn't understand them sometimes. Jo didn't understand a lot of things. But that was also okay. She still goes to school because she liked learning. But sometimes she didn't like what they were learning about. They weren't very interesting.

Her aunt Tori's cafe was quiet though. There's only a few people in. At least fewer people than school. Some of them just comes in and leaves, not really interested in talking. That was fine too. But there were different people who were often present at different times of the day, like an example: the lady with the peculiar pink hair who comes every four in the afternoon from Monday to Thursday, and the funny old man who with the checkered hat and stays in the corner reading his newspaper. There were others too like Mr. Charlie who used to be Ms. Lucy, but now became Mr. Charlie. This confused Jo a lot but aunt Tori told her patiently that he had always been Mr. Charlie from the start but a mistake was made when writing his name when he was born. She also told Jo to make sure to call him a Mr. Charlie from now on.

Jo thought that made sense. People made mistakes too. He’s just correcting it, she supposed. Like when aunt Tori placed her lion in the wrong place. She’d like to correct that too.

She like Mr. Charlie though. He was always kind. And he would give her papers to draw on and she’s draw lions in them. But she’d have to draw on the back side though, because the front was full of funny words which he called ‘thesis drafts” whatever that was. Apparently it needed a lot of paper (and tears Mr. Charlie said with a laugh. Jo didn’t know why it was funny. But she nodded anyway. She was good at nodding when she’s supposed to understand something she doesn’t really. Better that than them getting angry with her. She gets papers to draw lions on and that’s enough for her.)

Sometimes she wouldn’t be able to meet the people because she would feel too icky. Aunt Tori called it being _overwhelmed._ And she didn’t like being overwhelmed. Everything was too loud, and her body felt too tight. Like she was wrapped in blanket but the blanket was wet and sticky. Or sometimes it felt like the blanket was wet and filled with sand. It was uncomfortable. And it was not good. But aunt Tori would give her a sticker after she calmed down and that was good. She gives her stickers when she does something good. And Jo was happy when she gets a sticker.

Anyway. The café was usually empty save for the regulars, and Jo knew most of the regulars in the café. She’d also know what day it was with when they would arrive. Jo liked knowing when they would come in. Sometimes she would feel sad when they wouldn’t be there. Aunt Tori explained that not everyone can come here. Jo knew that but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t feel sad. Anyway she liked knowing when and who would come in. Lately though, there had been two people coming in almost everyday.

One of them had yellow hair. He had green eyes too. Jo easily noticed him because of them. He was often frowning. Except when he’s with his friend. His friend had black hair and black eyes. He looked really different. And he would speak in some weird language that Jo did not understand. Jo doesn’t like it when she doesn’t understand. Which wasn’t so good. But the man was always smiling and he make the yellow haired man laugh too. So maybe that was good.

Sometimes the yellow haired man would come alone though, and he would be typing away in his laptop. He also drinks a lot of plain black coffee. 

Jo thought he was a little funny. Mostly when he’s with his black haired friend. His face gets really red sometimes when he’s with his friend. He’ll also make a lot of funny noises, as if words gets caught up in his throat and his friend would laugh at him for it. 

Jo thought it was a little mean to laugh when your friend was having problems saying things. Jo couldn't explain some of her feelings too sometimes. It was hard for her to explain some things. She didn't like it if someone would laugh at her for it. That wasn't so good. 

Now, Jo didn’t usually talk with the people in aunt Tori’s café unless they talked to her first. But the café was mostly empty except the yellow haired man and while Jo was arranging the tables and chairs to its proper places, she noticed that the man had a nice toy hanging on the zipper of his bag. 

It looked like a cheetah, or a leopard. She liked leopards and cheetahs. They were big cats like a lion. And she liked lions. Aunt Jo told her not to go talking to strangers especially when they were busy. But she liked the big cat on the man’s zipper. And she didn’t know if it was a cheetah or a leopard. She did not like not knowing. So Jo asked him.

“Is that a cheetah or a leopard?”

The man stopped what he was doing and looked at her. Now Jo wanted to take it back because the man was frowning at her. She can’t help but feel like she did something wrong. She didn’t like it when she did something wrong. Now her aunt Tori would be upset and she didn’t like her aunt Tori to be upset because that meant Jo did bad and that wasn’t good.

The man continued to look at her, then to his bag, and then back to her.

“It’s neither. It’s a Lynx.” He told her. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “It’s a big cat like a leopard and a cheetah but it’s a different genus.” He was no longer frowning. That must be a good thing.

“Like a lion.” Jo continued. “I like lions. Lions are nice.”

“Yes. They are.” The man nodded.

“The lion’s scientific name is Panthera leo. It is a species in the family Felidae. Do you know that a lion’s heels don’t touch the ground when it walks?”

“…Yes.” The man responded. “But I have forgotten, thank you for telling me.”

“Oh.” She didn’t really know if that was good. “That’s nice then. The lions' closest relatives are the other species of the genus Panthera.”

“That’s tigers, jaguars, and leopards aren’t they?” He answered.

“Yes. They are.” Jo thought the man was smart enough to know his cats. Which made the man interesting to be with. Most people don’t really know about big cats to be interesting enough to talk to. “A good gauge of a male lion’s age is the darkness of his mane. The darker the mane, the older the lion. Also a lion may sleep up to 20 hours a day.”

The man laughed. “We have that in common at least.” He snorted and gestured at the seat across him. “Take a seat.” Well. Jo proceeded to do as he said and sit across him.

The yellow hair man stared at her. His green eyes look a lot like aunt Tori’s green earrings. The one they save for special occasions like birthdays. “I see you’re a cat enthusiast.” He said.

“I like lions.” She said simply. Because she does like lions. They’re very neat.

“I can see that.” He glanced at her toy lion. “What’s your name?”

Oh. She had forgotten to introduce herself.

“Joanne. But my aunt Tori calls me Jo.” She told him.

“And where is your aunt Tori?” He asked.

She looked around the counter and found no one there. “She must be cleaning the washroom. She’s the one serving coffee in the counter.”

The man nodded. He nods a lot. “Ah. Barista.” He stared at the empty counter and then easily looked back to Jo. “Aren’t you going to ask for my name?”

She had forgotten about that too.

“What is your name mister?” She asked. The man laughed for some reason like he found something funny. Jo also didn’t know what he found funny.

“You’re going to laugh.” He said.

“You’re the one laughing.” Jo was confused.

“That’s true.” He sighed. “My name is Aslan.”

Oh. Maybe that’s why.

“Like the lion from Narnia.”

“I resent that.” Mr. Aslan snorted. “But yes. Exactly like the lion in Narnia.”

“Aslan means lion in Turkish though.” Jo points out. “Your name is Lion.” She liked that his name meant lion. That was good. She likes it. So she laughed. But she clasped a hand on her mouth. Aunt Tori told her that it was rude to laugh at someone sometimes. And now she laughed at his name. Maybe he’s upset with her now. She didn’t want him to be upset. That wasn’t good. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Mr. Aslan waved her off. “I told you, you’d laugh.” And he was laughing as well. Jo thought he probably wasn’t upset at her. So she laughed with him.

“Why do you have a Lynx when you’re named lion? Shouldn’t you have a lion instead?” She asked because if she was named lion, she would get herself a lion toy instead of a lynx. She wished she was named Aslan.

Mr. Aslan stared at the toy on his bag. “My friend has a very dry sense of humor.” He snorted. “He thinks he’s being funny.”

“Why?”

Mr. Aslan shrugged. “I like lynxes. He calls me Lynx because of it.”

“But you’re a lion.” Jo was a little confused.

“That’s why he thinks it’s funny. My friend is uhh…” He scratched his nape. “He’s weird.”

“The black haired man.” She said

“Yes.” Mr. Aslan nodded his head. “The black haired man.”

They were awfully close with the black haired man. Jo doesn’t have many friends so she doesn’t really know how friends work. Mr. Aslan and the black haired man must be very good best friends. She wanted to talk more to Mr. Aslan about lions though and maybe lynxes. He liked lynxes but Jo doesn’t know a lot about them yet. He hasn’t found a book about them in their school library.

“Jo, I see you’ve found a new friend.”

That was her aunt Tori. Now she was a little sad. She knew her aunt would ask her to stop bothering Mr. Aslan. But Jo wanted to talk more to Mr. Aslan. She wanted to learn more about lynxes and talk about lions.

“You must be her aunt Tori.” Mr. Aslan said with a smile.

“I am.” Aunt Tori ruffled Jo’s dark locks. “I’m sorry about Jo, she could go on and on about the things she liked. It must have bothered you and your work.”

“It’s fine.” Mr. Aslan’s smile did not waver. “Jo reminded me of a friend of mine.”

Jo did not know that.

But now Mr. Aslan looked sad despite still smiling. His eyes look sad. It confused Jo. Why would he smile if he was sad?

“That’s great.” Aunt Tori cheered. “But you must be very busy so Jo, you can draw your lions in the back room right?”

Jo didn’t really want to, but she needed to. So she nodded and took her stuffed lion with her before saying goodbye to Mr. Aslan. “Bye Mr. Aslan.”

“See you later Jo.” He waved.

Jo wanted to wave back but the action was stuck like the words were stuck in her throat and he ended up walking away to clutch her stuffed lion. She wanted to wave. She compromised with a small smile.

Later, Jo started to draw lynxes.

* * *

The next time Jo saw Mr. Aslan, he wasn’t staying long. Aunt Tori placed orders in brown paper bags sometimes. And brown paper bags meant they won’t stay long.

“Mr. Aslan!” Jo reached up from the counter. She had a little green stool to step on so she can see.

“Jo.” He smiled at her. That was nice. “Nice to see you again.”

“Oh I see it’s your new friend.” Aunt Tori grinned at Mr. Aslan.

“His name is Mr. Aslan!” She told her aunt excitedly. “Aslan means lion. He is Mr. Lion.”

“That’s wonderful, honey.” Aunt Tori told her. And then she turned to Mr. Aslan. “I’m sorry. She really likes lions, which is probably why she likes talking to you.” Aunt Tori does those thing which confuses Jo too. Adults actually confuse her more than kids. Especially when aunt Tori apologizes to other people.

“It’s okay. I enjoy talking to her. She’s a rather smart kid.” Mr. Aslan said. “I don’t mind her chatting with me sometimes.”

And Jo liked that. That made her warm inside. She was happy. It made her all tingly inside, but in a good way.

“Okay.” Aunt Tori agreed. “Do you hear that Jo?”

Jo nodded happily. Aunt Tori agreed with Mr. Aslan and Mr. Aslan liked to talk to her.

“I need to get going.” Mr. Aslan said. “I need to get these pastries back. My friend has taken a good liking to your beignets. It might cheer him up. Bye Ms. Tori.”

This time Jo wanted to wave back at him as he left.

“By Mr. Aslan!”

Yes. She did it.

Aunt Tori smiled at her. She was very happy.

* * *

It turns out, Mr. Aslan would only come at Monday from three to five thirty, Thursday mornings, Saturdays at noon and Sunday afternoon. But Jo couldn’t meet him on Thursday mornings because she had school so she only had Mondays, Saturdays and Sundays to ask him about lynxes. But on Sunday he would bring his black haired friend and today was a Sunday, so there was the black haired man staring at her right now.

Jo didn’t hate it when people stared at her, but sometimes she didn’t like it. Not this man’s stare though. He was smiling at her. Which probably was good. The man was staring at her and smiling at her. Jo looked at her feet.

“Well Ash,” He started to say. “I’m glad you’re making friends with people your age.”

That didn’t make sense. Mr. Aslan was way bigger and older than her. Mr. Aslan snorted.

“Ha ha. Very funny.” He said, but he didn’t look amused. He also didn’t sound like he found it funny. She clutched at her stuffed lion. 

“I’m still seven though I'll be eight soon.” She told the black haired man. He might not know. So she needed to tell him. “Mr. Aslan and I are not the same age.”

The black haired man with dark eyes grinned at her. “I know sweetheart. It’s a joke.”

“Mr. Aslan wasn’t laughing.”

"Don't worry." He sighed. “I’m just teasing him.”

Mr. Aslan did say his friend was weird. He also had weird way of saying things. Like he had so much “R’s” instead of “L’s” and his words were a little chopped up. Jo didn’t understand him that well. But she nodded anyway.

She turned to Mr. Aslan instead. “Why does he call you Ash? I thought your name was Mr. Aslan?” Jo asked because maybe Mr. Aslan’s name was also written by mistake when he was born and needed to be corrected.

“It’s a nickname, like how I call you Jo.” Mr. Aslan explained. “You can call me Ash too if you want.”

But with this, Jo’s face crumpled. She did not like to call him Ash, which was like ash. Ash was what’s left of something burning. Ash was like dust and Jo didn’t like dust. She especially didn't like it's feeling on her hand. It felt rough and dirty and annoying, sometimes she couldn't put words to how it felt. She liked lions though and Aslan meant lion so she was sticking to calling him Mr. Aslan.

“I like Mr. Aslan better than Ash. Your name means lion. I like lions.” She said with a resolute nod. “Ash sounds like burnt wood. I don’t like fires. Or burnt wood.”

Mr. Aslan smiled. “Well then, I’ll only let you call me Aslan. The rest should call me Ash.”

Jo liked that. She liked that only she can call him Aslan.

“Will you let me introduce myself now?” The dark haired man piped in. “I’d like to meet you properly.”

Oh. Jo forgot to ask again.

“I forgot to ask your name.” Jo said, sorry.

“That’s okay.” The dark haired man said. “I’m _Eyy-ji._ Nice to meet you.”

Aye-ji? Ey-jee? Ei-gee?

“Nice to meet you Ey-jee. I’m Joanne. But my aunt Tori calls me Jo.” She told him like what he told Mr. Aslan from the first time they met.

“Do you like to be called Jo?” Mr. Ey-jee asked.

“I don’t mind being called Jo.” She said. "But if I can pick I want to be called Aslan too."

Mr. Ey-jee laughed. He's always laughing. Like how Mr. Aslan was always nodding. But Jo didn't mind the sound of his laugh. It wasn't like the bad and mean laughs she's heard from other people when she says or does things. Mr. Ey-jee's laugh sounded really happy. Which was good. Jo liked happy. 

"You can always change your name later, if you want." Mr. Aslan told her. And she knew this. Like Mr. Charlie. But Jo's name wasn't written wrong. Jo liked her name. Aunt Tori said her mom picked it for her. So Jo liked her name.

"My mom picked my name. I like my name." She told Mr. Aslan. 

"My mom picked mine too." Mr. Aslan told her and Jo liked that. She liked that she had a lot in common with Mr. Aslan.

"His other name is Jade." Mr. Ey-jee told her as well. "It's very pretty isn't it?"

It was very pretty. Jo thought it was nice. Like her aunt Tori's earrings. "Like his eyes." She pointed at his green eyes. That made sense. His mother named him jade for his eyes.

"Very good." Mr. Ey-jee smiled. "And Mr. Aslan has very pretty eyes. I love Mr. Aslan's eyes." 

Now Mr. Aslan started to turn red. He started to splutter and he covered his face while he turned even redder. Mr. Ey-jee laughed.

"I don't think it's nice to laugh at someone who can't say his feelings." Jo told Mr. Ey-jee. Her aunt Tori told her it was rude to do so. Maybe Mr. Ey-jee do not know that.

"I'm sorry." Mr. Ey-jee stopped laughing. "I'm just happy. He looks cute. It makes me want to kiss him." 

Now Mr. Aslan placed his head on the wooden table. He made another funny noise which confused Jo a lot. "I'm also happy Jo. Don't worry about it. I just don't know how to say it." He told her, but his voice was muffled by the table. 

Oh. "I understand. I can't say what I feel too sometimes and aunt Tori wouldn't know what to do but she tried her best to understand. I wish some of my classmates would be like that too. They laugh at me when I can't or they will get angry." 

Mr. Ey-jee frowned. “I’m sorry you have to go through that sweetie.”

“Here.” Mr. Aslan said instead. “I found this in my old things.” He gave her a book. The book had a picture of a lynx. It was a book about lynxes. “It’s not lions but maybe you’ll enjoy it.”

“Is that why you insisted in cleaning our storeroom yesterday? You never clean.” Mr. Ey-jee snorted. “You are such a big softie.” He went and poked Mr. Aslan on the cheek.

“Shh. I have a reputation.” Mr. Aslan swatted Mr. Ey-jee’s hand away. “Anyway, I hope you will enjoy the book.”

Jo stared at the book in her hands. It was hardbound and the pictures were pretty. It was a little old. But it was still good. It wasn’t lions but Jo like books and she wanted to learn about lynxes. This was good. “I like it Mr. Aslan.” He continued to stare at it with wide eyes.

Mr. Aslan cleared his throat. “Anyway. We need to get going now. We have some errands to run.”

“We are?” Mr. Ey-jee exclaimed. “But I’m having fun.”

Oh they were leaving now. Jo didn’t want them to leave. Jo enjoyed being with Mr. Aslan and Mr, Ey-jee. She’s getting a little upset.

“We’ll come back next week.” Mr. Aslan told them.

Oh. They’re coming back next week. Mr. Aslan and Mr. Ey-jee were coming back next week. She wasn’t so sad anymore.

“Alright Jo-chan, we’ll come back next week.” Mr. Ey-jee smiled at her. They were coming back next week.

And that was good.

* * *

“Did Mr. Aslan give you that?” Aunt Tori asked her just as she was closing up. She was talking about the book.

Jo nodded. “Do you know the name “lynx” originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word “lunx”, derived from the Indo-European root “leuk“, meaning “ _light, brightness”,_ in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes?” The book taught her a lot of things and she’s learning a lot. She liked learning.

“I didn’t know that.” Aunt Tori told her. “I’m glad you told me.”

“They also generally feed on small prey, such as hares, rabbits, birds and foxes and switch to larger prey only when food becomes scarce.” She continued to tell her. “A lynx can jump 2 meters in the air to strike at a game bird as it takes off from the ground.”

“Did you learn all that from your book?” But before Jo could answer, the phone rang and that meant aunt Tori had to answer it, and she couldn’t talk about lynxes until she finished. So she waited and waited and waited.

“Honey, do you mind if Ms. Leia comes over for dinner?” Aunt Tori asked her. Jo thought about it for a bit. She doesn’t really mind Ms. Leia. She was actually a lot fun. She had the same name as that princess from the movie she and aunt Tori watched before, the one with the light swords and the weird black masked man and the golden robot. It was too bright sometimes for Jo, but she had enjoyed the movie. Ms. Leia had long brown hair, and she wore her hair like the princess Leia once. That was nice. Jo didn’t mind Ms. Leia.

“I don’t mind.” She said slowly. Her only problem was that sometimes Ms. Leia would talk with her aunt Tori the entire time and there wasn’t any time for her to talk. Jo would read then, or draw lions, or arrange her toys in a neat order while waiting for them to finish talking. Aunt Tori said it was rude to interrupt two people talking and she didn’t want to be rude. So she’ll wait.

When it was already dinner time, Ms. Leia came in the door of their apartment and greeted them with a big smile.

“Vicky! Jo!” She hugged aunt Tori and waved to her. She then proceeded to kiss her aunt on the lips. They were very close friends, aunt Tori explained to her.

“Is that a new book Jo?” Ms. Leia asked her.

Jo didn’t look up from the picture of a lynx while she nodded at her.

“Jo met new friends in the café this morning, didn’t you Jo?” Aunt Tori informed Ms. Leia.

“Is that right?” Ms. Leia crouched next to her and touched her shoulder. But Jo didn’t want her to touch her. It felt much like the blanket situation except it’s focused on her shoulder. She took deep breaths like what her aunt Tori told her to. Deep breaths. In and out.

She was also told to tell someone politely if she didn’t want to be touched. So she tried her best to say that to Ms. Leia. “Please don’t touch me.” She told her. She kept her eyes on the floor.

“Oh, sorry.” Ms. Leia immediately took her hand. Which was good. It was no longer hard to breath. “I forget sometimes.”

Jo didn’t want to be in that room anymore. She didn’t want to look at Ms. Leia who was aunt Tori’s very best friend. She might be upset with her now. So she took her lion and her book about lynxes and excused herself to her room.

Sometimes she didn’t really like Ms. Leia because she touches her when she didn’t want to. She also forgets to arrange her toys the way she arranged them in. She always says sorry though. She didn’t mean it. But Jo was upset about it. And that wasn’t so good.

* * *

It was Sunday again. And Jo had learned to like Sundays. She liked Sundays because Mr, Aslan and Mr. Ey-jee would come. And Jo had started to like them, even Mr. Ey-jee who was a little weird. Today, Mr. Aslan and Mr. Ey-jee invited her to sit with them and eat. But today they were sitting outside because they brought with them their puppy who was named Buddy. Jo liked Buddy.

“I found him in Ash’s school he was all alone and cold so I decided to take him home.” Mr. Ey-jee told her while eating aunt Tori’s beignets. He really liked the beignets. Jo liked them too, but she wasn’t allowed to eat too many.

“I was so surprised to find him at home filled with mud and holding a dog so happily. But we ended up keeping Buddy because I can’t resist Eiji's pleading face.” Mr. Aslan said. He was drinking coffee.

Jo was petting Buddy’s fur. It was nice to hold his fur. It was very lovely to do so. He liked how it was soft. Jo liked soft things.

“I like Buddy.” She told them and Buddy gave a nudge on her hand, barking a little.

“Buddy likes you too Jo-chan.” Mr. Ey-jee smiled. Jo liked his smiles too. But she didn’t know why he called her Jo-chan. Her name didn't have a chan. 

“Why do you call me Jo-chan Mr. Ey-jee?”

Mr. Ey-jee’s smile grew bigger. “It’s an endearment. Like how I call Ash “sweetheart”. It’s what we do in Japan.”

“And Japan is a country?”

Mr. Ey-jee nodded. “It is. It is very far. You need to ride a plane to get there. It’s where I was born. Ash has been there.”

“So you’re Japanese!” Jo exclaimed.

“Yes Jo-chan. I am Japanese. That’s very good.” Mr. Ey-jee congratulated her and Jo felt happy because she got it right

“How did you end up here in America if you came from Japan?” Jo thought of how far planes go and how far Mr. Ey-jee must be from his home. Jo can’t imagine being too far from home. She liked her home. Moving from home would mean lots of changes and Jo didn’t like changes.

“I came here for work. I work as a photographer. It’s how I met Ash.” He looked at Mr. Aslan with a weird smile. Jo could not describe it. It was just strange and funny. It was something.

“Mr. Ey-jee looked like a kid then. I didn’t think he was older than me.” Mr. Aslan answered.

“Mr. Aslan is a meanie. He called me a baby back then! I was nineteen years old.” Mr, Ey-jee crossed his arms and pouted at Mr. Aslan which made Jo giggle. Mr. Ey-jee was funny.

“You look like a baby.” Mr. Ash pinched Mr. Ey-jee’s cheeks.

“You are lucky I love you.” Mr. Ey-jee huffed.

Mr. Aslan looked at Mr. Ey-jee with this funny look on his face and really big smile. “I am very lucky.”

Jo thought that both of them were actually weird and funny.

* * *

School had kept Jo busy lately. Jo didn’t enjoy the homework she had to do. She didn’t enjoy the writings she had to do. Mr. Aslan was going to school too and that kept him busy too. So when Mr. Aslan was there for Mondays and Thursdays and Saturdays, Jo would work quietly across him with his homework. Mr. Aslan would help her when she asked. Mr. Aslan was really helpful.

Other times when Mr. Aslan was busy, aunt Tori told Jo not to disturb him since he was making his research paper and research papers were apparently difficult to make. But Mr. Aslan told her that she could read with him so long as she was quiet. Jo can be quiet. She can be really really quiet.

Mr. Ey-jee would come in sometimes alone. He would buy bagels for Mr. Aslan and some beignets for himself because he really loved aunt Tori’s beignets. He told her it was like from that movie Princess and the Frog. He also told her that she looked like the princess from the movie. Jo hadn’t seen it yet. She told Mr. Ey-jee this. So that Sunday, they spent the time watching Princess and the Frog. Jo did look like the princess. This made Jo very happy. She wasn’t going to kiss a frog. But she liked the idea of being a princess. And she started to like frogs too. So she borrowed a book about frogs and she learned about them together with lions and lynxes.

One time Mr. Ey-jee also gave her a toy like the one from Mr. Aslan. Except it was a toy lion. Not a lynx. Jo liked that toy. So in return she tried drawing Mr. Aslan and Mr. Ey-jee. She had given them her drawings and they said it was wonderful.

It was good.

She liked her days even if school was a little hard.

It was good. And she didn’t want anything to change.

* * *

But it did change.

“Jo, would can you sit with me?” Aunt Tori asked her once while she was drawing at home one night. She was drawing lions and lynxes and frogs. She thought they looked pretty good. But Jo obeyed and sat next to her aunt Tori.

“Jo,” Her aunt Tori began. “You know I think of you as my own daughter right?”

Jo didn’t know where this was headed. But she nodded anyway.

“Ever since your mom died, you’ve been with me and I love you.” She continued. “You know this right?”

Again Jo nodded.

“We’ve always been together. Just you and me.” Aunt Tori looked worried. Jo didn’t want her to be worried. “Well…what if we become three?”

Now Jo wanted to understand. “What do you mean?”

“Well….you see, you know Leia right?”

A nod.

“You see, we are best friends right? And when two people become very good friends and they love each other they become girlfriends or boyfriends.” Her aunt Tori said. “Leia is my girlfriend. Are you okay with her living with us?”

Jo thought about this really hard.

She was fine with Ms. Leia but sometimes she didn’t like some things about Ms. Leia. But she was her aunt Tori’s girlfriend. Jo wants aunt Tori to be happy. She didn’t like the idea of Ms. Leia coming in and changing everything how the house worked though. And her teacher told her that girls only get boyfriends and boys only get girlfriends so she didn’t really understand her aunt. She also didn’t want to be touched and she sometimes touched her by mistake. She frowned and told aunt Tori what she felt.

“Can I think about it?”

Aunt Tori’s face seemed to lose its smile. But then it came back just as fast.

“Okay sweetie, okay. Take as all time you need.”

* * *

The next Sunday, the room upstairs was going to be full of students. They were Mr. Ey-jee’s students. But for the morning, they were just there spending time together before the large crowds. When the crowds grew bigger the noise will grow too. So when that happened Jo would hide in the back room. She didn’t like crowds. She didn’t like noise.

But for now she was with Mr. Ey-jee and Mr. Aslan.

“Mr. Aslan, do you know what gay means?”

Mr. Aslan seemed to choke on his coffee and coughed really hard. Mr, Ey-jee looked at her. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked. Maybe it was a bad thing after all.

“Where did you hear that Jo-chan?” Mr. Ey-jee asked her. He was still smiling so it must be still okay.

“I asked my teacher about it. She said my aunt Tori is gay because she says she loved Ms. Leia and that they were girlfriends. But my teacher said girls can only be with boys and have boyfriends while boys will be with girls and have girlfriends. But I’m not really sure what gay means. The only thing I found in the dictionary was that it meant happy and I told my teacher this but I think she got angry with me.” Jo was rambling already, talking too fast.

“You can love anyone Jo.” Mr. Aslan told her. “It doesn’t matter if you are a boy, girl or whatever you wanna be. You can be anything and still love anyone.” He continued. “Some teachers can be wrong sometimes. In fact, some teachers are wrong a lot more times than you think.”

“Yes.” Mr, Ey-jee added. “Love can’t be wrong.”

“And,” Mr. Aslan added again. “I love Ey-jee. He’s my boyfriend. I love him a lot. And he loves me back. We are just like any boy who loves a girl and a girl who loves a boy. I don’t see how that’s wrong.”

Mr. Aslan was smart. So maybe he was right about this. Yes. Love can’t be wrong, right?

“That’s right.” Jo beamed at them. “It can’t be wrong.” Then she frowned. “My aunt Tori wants Ms. Leia to move in with us. I don’t think I like her in our house. She would change a lot of things. I don’t want her to change things.”

“You should talk to your aunt with that.” Mr. Aslan said. “Don’t force yourself into something you’re not comfortable with.”

Jo was silent. She didn’t know what to say.

“We can talk with her too if you want. I think your aunt is a rather agreeable woman, don’t you think so, Ash?” Mr. Ey-jee told her. “Would you like us to do that?”

Jo didn’t really know what she wanted to happen. She didn’t know what she wanted to say.

“It’s okay. All in your pace.”

Jo ended up in the backroom that day, a little troubled. She couldn’t go to Mr. Aslan and Mr. Ey-jee because they were busy. And her Aunt Tori was busy too. So she clutched her stuffed lion and thought about what she wanted to say.

She didn’t feel better even when Mr. Aslan and Mr. Ey-jee came back to see her before they left for the night.

* * *

In the end she decided to talk to her aunt by herself. She was nervous. She didn’t want to upset her aunt. But she also needed to say this.

“I don’t want Ms. Leia to move in.” She blurted out to her aunt while she was sitting on the couch, watching tv. “I’m afraid she’ll change things. I’m uncomfortable with her. I’m afraid you’ll keep talking to her and forget about me because when she’s around sometimes all you do is talk to her and I don’t get to talk and I don’t want that. And she will change a lot and I don’t like change. Please don’t make her move in with us yet.” She was talking too fast. She needed to slow down. She stared at the floor and breathed. In and out. In and out.

“Oh sweetie. I won’t forget you even if we’re with her.” Aunt Tori turned off the tv. “I’m sorry I made you feel like that.”

“I accept your apology.” Jo said.

“Can I hug you?” she asked and Jo nodded. So she wrapped her arms around Jo’s shoulders and it was uncomfortable at first but soon it was warm and nice. “I understand. I won’t ask Ms. Leia to move in with us. But will you promise you’ll at least try to get used to her? And I promise I’ll try to remind her about your needs and wants. I just think I love her a lot and I want to be with her too like how I love you and how I want to be with you.”

Jo thought about this too. Jo wanted her to be happy. She didn’t want her to be sad. “I promise I’ll try to get used to her and when I’m comfortable, I think she can live with us.”

“Thank you Jo. You are so kind.” Aunt Tori said. “So you’re okay with me being like this? Liking women?”

“Mr. Aslan and Mr. Ey-jee told me it’s not bad to be gay. Love is love. I don’t think love is wrong.” Jo repeated what they told her.

“I guess I owe Mr. Aslan and Mr, Eiji a thank you.” Aunt Tori smiled but tears were running down her face.

“Why are you crying?”

“I’m just really happy sweetheart.” Aunt Tori hugged her again. “I’m just really really happy.”

* * *

In the end Aunt Tori and Ms. Leia talked to Mr. Aslan and Mr. Ey-jee.

She was busy coloring and playing with Buddy, but she heard the words “thank you” and “coming out.” and “Special”. There was also “difficult” and “accepted.” Thrown around. But mostly it was just thank you’s.

Jo was happy.

Mr. Aslan and Mr. Ey-jee were friends with her aunt Tori and Ms. Leia.

Jo went back to coloring her lion who was sleeping peacefully under the night stars.

Everything was good.

**Author's Note:**

> so....yeah how was it? lmao i hc Ash to actually be fond of kids but is awkward with dealing them hahaha i just like the idea of them being kind to kids lmao.


End file.
